Most Helpful Customer Reviews

This is why we go to movies. Silver Linings Playbook is that rare breed of movie where all the moving parts got put together in exactly the right way. The dialogue is sharp, witty, insightful, funny, and often brutally honest. It respects and holds true affection for its characters and the wonderful ensemble cast makes it look easy. The direction, editing and soundtrack are spot on. It is a future classic and the best movie of the year.

Pat is an underachieving substitute high school history teacher who has just been released from the Karel Psychiatric Facility after spending an eight month court-ordered stint for nearly beating the history teacher to death when he finds him in the shower with his wife. His doting, eternally optimistic mother brings him home hoping that the worst of his previously undiagnosed bipolar symptoms are under control. But his refusal to take his meds and an unfortunate incident concerning Earnest Hemingway and a window quickly dispels that optimism. Pat is in fact clueless, living inside a self-delusion bubble in which he reunites with the truly unattainable object of his obsession, his wife Nikki. Two more mismatched souls the world has never seen but he is the only one who doesn't realize it. He plods doggedly on in pursuit, oblivious to everything and everyone else around him. His illness has removed the normal barriers that prevent him from expressing the unfiltered truth as he sees it, making for some awkward, cringe-worthy, often humorous exchanges. Pat is hardly ready for the real world.

And he certainly is not ready for Tiffany. Pat's best friend invites him over for a homecoming dinner which turns out to be a blind date with his wife's recently widowed sister, Tiffany.Read more ›

I didn't expect to like this film since I've disliked Bradley Cooper's past roles and because the script sounded shallow and formulaic. Initially, I thought they'd included De Niro as a come-on. In fact, the only reason I saw the film was because of Jennifer Lawrence, whose sophisticated performance in WINTER'S BONE convinced me I'd seen the breakthrough of a gifted actress.

Well, I was wrong about Cooper, wrong about De Niro's inclusion, wrong about a formulaic script, and dead-on about Jennifer Lawrence. Simply stated, this quirky, brilliant story of the evolution of love between two world-worn, emotionally troubled people -- against the chaotic background of family madness -- was one of the most satisfying, funny and affecting movies I've seen in recent years. In terms of clarity, continuity and heart, it surpasses the book on which it was based.

Since others have described the plot on this page, I will say that millions of viewers who have not seen the film will find parts of their emotional lives in the trials of the lead characters. They will marvel at Bradley Cooper's jaw-dropping portrayal of of a man shackled by the manic phase of bipolar disorder. They will wince at those moments in which the love between the principals starts to emerge, and falters. They will discover a performance by Lawrence that is comfortably sensual, and an actress who is equally powerful whether she is mute or screaming.

The script is complex and masterfully written, with surprising outburst of pathos and hilarity. The climax of the film -- and I won't enter a spoiler here -- caught me by surprise. I wept at the beauty of it, the director's mastery of realism, and the restoration of originality and complexity to American comedy.Read more ›

David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" is a big hearted and nearly irresistible concoction that presents one of the year's most unlikely romances. I've been a huge Russell fan since his debut with "Spanking the Monkey" and "Flirting With Disaster" is one of my favorite flights of outrageousness. Russell can have an edgy cynicism about his eccentric characters, but he knows how to make an audience identify with even their most offbeat characteristics. Make no mistake, "Silver Linings Playbook" is loaded with an expected array of troubled souls. But the most remarkable thing about this film (and its screenplay) is the amount of compassion it shows to just about everyone. With a stellar cast including Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker and John Ortiz, the movie boasts easily one of the best ensembles of the year. Each of these actors is given a fully written character and each makes a huge impression in the screen time allotted. That's what impressed me most about the film. It embraces its large cast and allows every member to shine!

Cooper plays a man being released from institutionalized care after a violent episode got him into trouble. Having lost his job and his wife, he is taken in by his parents (Weaver and DeNiro) who must contend with his bipolar condition. Cooper is single-minded in his pursuit to get back together with his wife, to the point of obsession. When he meets an odd young widow (Lawrence) dealing with plenty of personal demons, the two seem like they've got a lot in common. Of course, they seem perfect for each other but Cooper remains oblivious for most of the movie.Read more ›